


I'd Like That

by hawker



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Bonding, M/M, Mojave Wasteland (Fallout), World Travel, cazadores
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 02:21:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15500190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawker/pseuds/hawker
Summary: Courier Griffon travels with his companions around the Mojave. From the perspective of Arcade, witness what he thinks about the current situation and how he handles a messy cazador situation that ends up setting up a bond to help them develop their relationship.





	I'd Like That

**Author's Note:**

> Haven't written in a long time, decided to come back with something nice.

_“I got spurs, that jingle jangle jingle…_ ,” the old radio droned on with the old songs of the pre-war, giving a giddy vibe in the atmosphere. Griffon, the courier, was destined to blast the vintage music to annoy all of his companions, which were only Arcade Gannon and Rose of Sharon Cassidy. The courier had a little bit of a bounce to his step as he jammed along to the tunes. Arcade could only sigh at the courier’s usual antics.

“Usual hating from Arcade, I see.” Griffon smirked, stopping in his track to see what the doctor was going on about. Cass rolled her eyes, as this was a daily occurrence in the group. The courier was always pulling off ridiculous stunts and bothering Arcade about it.

Arcade scoffed, as he usually did. “Right. Maybe keep turning up the radio so the enemy can hear us and snipe us from wherever they are because some _intelligent_ courier thought it was funny,” Arcade retaliated. He crossed his arms in disapproval, and the courier was dumbfounded by his words.

“Alright, you win, _doc_ ,” Griffon said in his usual pouty voice. With that, the courier turned down the volume and Cass sighed with relief, as she did not have to listen to that obnoxious Mr. New Vegas anymore. Well, she did, but it wasn’t as ear-piercing.

The group traveled on to wherever they were going, Arcade was always surprised to where they end up since the courier does not ever communicate where they were heading. Griffon just did whatever he pleased. He did right by others, but he often clowned around, making a fool of himself. It was typical of someone who was shot in the head, Arcade supposed. There was no way that Doc Mitchell could repair those missing neurons that the brain had lost. Still, he _might_ have actually enjoyed being around the buffoon.

Turns out that by the signs, the courier was heading to Novac. Probably to scope out what Boone was up to. Arcade was wary of the NCR man; he wasn’t particularly a fan of the stoic appearance he always put up. It was as if he had a tragic backstory that Arcade really didn’t care about. All he cared about was stopping by the hotels for a nap, since he was tired of walking around the Mojave without any breaks.

The courier was merciless when it came to having rest breaks, since he had pretty much infinite endurance and stamina. It was impressive, but it seemed he traded off his intelligence to get to that level of endurance. Arcade felt pity for him, but he did find that Griffon was easier to talk to and get along with. Except he was always asking Arcade questions, as if the courier found him _interesting_ or something, which was ridiculous. There was not a single thing that Arcade found intriguing about himself; it was just the courier digging his nose into things where it didn’t belong.

Griffon was given a hotel room free of charge; Arcade wasn’t around for whatever happened to earn the privilege. But it didn’t matter to him since he was finally able to lay down. Cass didn’t seem to mind the extra walking, she had her whiskey and would tread out without any complaints. She was quite the woman, Arcade thought.

“Alright, my beloved friends, you can relax or do whatever ya want, I’m gonna bother Boone about some… _business_ ,” Griffon told them. Arcade was relieved that he was going to get some time off. Things were definitely become quieter for some time, until the courier finished whatever nonsense he was going to do.

“Take your time,” Arcade responded. He realized it might have come off as mean, but he was sure the courier was too distracted to pay attention to his words.

Without a second thought, the courier closed the door as he departed from the room, leaving Cass and Arcade to relax and gather their things. It was almost refreshing to be left alone to his thoughts, but Arcade knew it would become quite boring without the usual antics. It was not like he was forced to walk through the desert for 24 hours, they did take naps occasionally, it was just the endless fighting that wore him out. There were always giant ants and raiders that were coming for their throats; it would be nice to sleep without one eye open for once.

Arcade immediately collapsed into the bed, not caring to remove his shoes or anything. Cass chuckled at Arcade’s exhaustion, sitting in the chair beside him and pulling out a cigarette.

She hardly ever stirred up conversation, but she must have been as bored as Arcade was. “You must be tired, huh? Yeah… the Mojave sure is a bitch sometimes.” She pulled out a matchbox from her satchel and lit her cigarette. She inhaled once, and let the silence fill the air.

Arcade laid down face up to take in the _gorgeous_ ceiling stains. “You don’t seem to have a problem with it… the walking I mean.” Arcade took his glasses off, taking the opportunity to rub his eyes from exposed sunlight.

Cass shrugged; Arcade saw it in his peripheral vision. “Yeah, it ain’t too bad. You just get used to it, I guess. I had my caravans in the blazing heat all day, but hey, I gotta eat somehow.” She was laidback about the whole situation, and she didn’t seem to care that the courier had often made them do ludicrous activities at times.

Arcade decided to sit up since it didn’t seem like he would be able to nap if Cass wanted to talk. He sighed, but he asked, “The courier doesn’t piss you off?”

“He’s an idiot sometimes, but hey, he’s doing right by the citizens of the Mojave. Can’t say I would have talked to him first, though.” Cass puffed out a cloud of smoke, dumping the ashes in a nearby tray. Arcade was so used to it that he didn’t care that his lungs were being polluted.

If Arcade had a drink at that moment, he would have drank to that. It was surprising that he was even able to tag along with Griffon at all, given the lack of direction that the courier had. It wasn’t so bad all the time, sometimes he _liked_ the courier, he was the only one to show genuine interest in him and his work. Griffon even helped Arcade sometimes; given his medicine skill was decent. Sometimes even admirable. The man was an imbecile, but he proved himself a few times.

Somehow, Griffon even managed to charm Arcade. He could only shrug it off, as everyone seemed to flirt to get what they wanted. Even if it was typical around the Mojave, Arcade could tell that Griffon was serious about his advances. He may have been unintelligent, but he wasn’t _ugly_ or rude. His heart was always set in the right place and he helped more people than Arcade could count. The NCR was lazy and the Legion was, well, the Legion. Nothing would have happened if Griffon didn’t help.

 _Simplex sigillum veri. Simplicity is the sign of truth._ Arcade had kept this in his mind, as the courier may have been a simple man, he did truthful and honorable things that disregarded his simplicity.

Cass finished her cigarette and ended up falling asleep in her chair. Arcade could not see how that was remotely comfortable, but he couldn’t argue exhaustion. He took the opportunity to sleep as well, since no one would know when the next time he would be granted such a luxury.

\------

The knocking on the door had startled Arcade awake. He was unsure of how long he had been asleep, but it only felt like it was a minute. He was always playing catch up with his sleeping, the Mojave was brutal to the weary.

Griffon had made his way in, making as much commotion as he could of course. It was only telling of his personality that he would make sure that his companions were miserable. Cass was already on her feet by the time the courier had made his way in. Perhaps it wasn’t possible to sleep at ease when one was so used to sleeping with one eye open. Cass had to sleep among the stars countless times; it was only wise to be cautious. Arcade, on the other hand, took his time getting up from his comfortable spot and getting accumulated to what was going on.

The courier brought Boone into the room with him; the burly and intimidating look had been the same since the last time they had met. Arcade was hoping that Griffon was just hoping to reintroduce them and leave it at that, he wasn’t sure how well he would get along if they had to travel together. But, Griffon was unpredictable as usual.

“Cass, head to the Lucky 38 and settle there. Boone is gonna be around for a while,” Griffon said. Cass shrugged her shoulders, and picked up her satchel and headed out of the hotel room. She didn’t say anything and just obeyed the courier with no hesitation. Fascinating. The power that the courier had without even trying was really impressive.

Arcade raised an eyebrow at the NCR soldier. Boone would probably be like Cass and not speak much, which was helpful to his situation. He extended a hand, but Boone refused to shake. What a man, Arcade thought. Boone only grunted, the only exchange that was going to be made. Silent, but deadly.

They headed out again, with no indication to where they were going. The usual. Arcade tried to stay beside the courier to avoid Boone’s presence. The sniper tended to stay back anyway, which was a blessing to Arcade. His aura was definitely intimidating and _not_ friendly.

“Soooo, where we headin’?” Arcade mustered enough courage to finally ask Griffon.

“Oh, gonna scavenge here and there for some caps,” Griffon answered. He actually had a plan, something that shocked Arcade. Maybe it was just because no one asked, though. That was on him for not being able to talk to him.

They walked back and forth, examining old buildings, taking out raiders and weird Mojave creatures. It was a usual day in the Mojave. Griffon scavenged for parts and extra caps, finding food to munch on during the endeavors. Arcade preferred a gourmet Brahmin steak, but he couldn’t have it all. Besides, no one knew how to properly cook Brahmin meat at all, and it would have done more harm if anyone had attempted.

It was lucky that the trio managed to avoid Legion camps or hit squads, which came often on a good day. They were ruthless, often taking no time to hit fast and hard. Arcade has barely managed to take them out a few times, but of course, the invincible courier was able to take them down with any problems. Arcade thought he should have stuck to the books sometimes; combat was annoying.

As the days went on, each day full of killing as the last, they finally had approached some destination. It was unknown to Arcade, but it ended up being Jacobstown according to the signs. A bunch of super mutants and nightkin were walking around, seemingly harmless. What the courier needed to there, Arcade had no idea.

They passed by the gatekeeper with ease, Griffon being able to use his charisma to slip through any situation. He had a silky, smooth voice with enough charm and power that could convince even the NCR soldier to get off their ass for once. Arcade did not necessarily hate the NCR, but he knew that they relied on others to get their dirty work done, since their precious soldiers were not to be wasted on _useless_ activities.

The nightkin were frightening, Arcade dared not to look them in the eye. He knew how Stealth Boys had caused them schizophrenic tendencies, and he knew that they had often picked fights with those they deemed fit. The ones at Jacobstown were calmer though, seemingly a safe haven for them. He enjoyed seeing that threatening mutants could find serenity somewhere, as it was not an easy life for sure.

It wasn’t long before they had left the place though, the courier only needing to talk to the doctor inside and being on his way. Arcade sighed, hoping he would be allowed a moment to breathe. But, he probably not want to rest beside a bunch of nightkin anyway, as there was no telling what could have happened.

They made their way around the Mojave again, scavenging what they could. More creatures, raiders, and Legion that they had to deal with. Boone was good about staying quiet, and the only sound that Arcade would hear was the blaring of the radio that the courier loved so dearly.

The trio, however, encountered a cazador nest. The vibrant yellow wings stuck out from a good distance away, but the courier kept approaching them. Arcade had to grab a hold of Griffon’s shoulder and halt him.

“What do you think you’re doing? Do you not see those cazadores?”

Griffon smiled, almost as if it was a joke to him. “We can take ‘em, I need to get the loot in their shack.” Arcade shook his head, aware that the outcome was not going to be good.

“Are you sure that it’s really that worth it? There are other places, you know.” Arcade wanted to smack some sense into the courier but he seemed to be unconvinced.

“People see cazadores, they run. The loot is untouched in there, which could mean there’s valuable stuff we can get.” The courier continued walking.

Arcade stopped him in his tracks again. “If you get hurt, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that, they continued to walk to the nest.

It was nerve-wracking, their buzzing. They held so much potential of killing them that Arcade wished he could have knocked Griffon out and gotten out of there. But he wouldn’t have the courage or energy to do that so he stuck with it. He pulled his plasma pistol out and took aim to the sickly creatures.

The courier was able to knock them out , one by one, with his gehenna. The bugs were set aflame, but still attacking. It was in that moment, that Griffon was surrounded by several, swarms of cazador coming from different directions. They had pierced through his armor with their powerful sting, stunning him until he was shouting for backup. Arcade had been shooting them from a distance, but he closed in on the cazadores and blasted them to heaven. Some disintegrated into the ashes they had deserved to be.

Boone was sniping the cazador that were coming from afar, sensing that there was trouble. The high-impact shots had shredded those bastards to pieces. Their wings and bodies had scattered around the sand, blood and guts wetting the ground that they spilled on.

Griffon was on the ground, his face turning pale from the amount of stingers that had injected him with poisons of unknown variety. He was mumbling something, but Arcade couldn’t comprehend what was being said. He knew that the fight was not going to be worth it, but it also would have helped that Griffon didn’t use melee all the time. Arcade grabbed Griffon by the arms, and without being told, Boone grabbed his legs. They decided to go into the nearby shack that the courier so eagerly needed to scavenge, and laid him on the ground.

Arcade began his work with stimpaks and doctor bags and anything else he had on his person. The courier had been losing fluids that the poison had been absorbing at an alarming rate. Arcade was lucky to bring several bottles of purified water with him and syringes to put the water down his throat. It was not as effective as an IV but it would have had to do. He removed the needles and began to squirt mLs of water down the courier’s throat, lifting his head to make sure it went down.

Several minutes went by where the courier’s condition was unknown, but Arcade could feel his pulse was steadying out. The holes where the courier was punctured were leaking, and Arcade concluded that the body was pushing out the poison. He sighed in relief, and just held Griffon’s head to his chest to keep him elevated. Boone kept silent the entire time, only offering assistance when he was needed.

As Griffon’s condition was stabilizing, Arcade finally took the time to look around the shack for the loot that he was so set on. He did find some valuables, many caps, and ammo that was desperately needed. He could not say it was not worth it because these were things that were hard to come by, but he was positive that there were other ways to go about it than attacking head on. Arcade was just relieved that things were going to be okay. He was not sure what he would do if he had lost the only person he cared for at the time.

\------

Griffon woke up, dazed and confused. He was unaware of what was going on, and he did not seem to care that he was laying down in a rusty shack looking up at the doctor who was sweating profusely.

“W…What happened?” Griffon asked, rubbing the wounds on his chest and arms.

“Cazadores, the ones you said we could take,” Arcade replied. He didn’t mean to be so sarcastic in a time of worry but that is how he resorted to cooling down.

The courier laughed. “Damn, we couldn’t take ‘em, huh? That’s somethin’ I oughta work on.” He sat up and got up as if nothing had happened. As if Arcade did not just nervously try to keep the man stabilized for the past half hour. “Ah, thanks ‘Cade for the healin’. Ya know I can’t do it without ya.” He patted Arcade on the shoulder and gave him a playful punch on the shoulder afterwards.

“You had me so worried, you know. What would have happened if I got taken down instead?” Arcade was unnerved, upset that the courier didn’t take greater caution for his health.

Griffon pursed his lips. “Well, I woulda helped you, you’re my ally. Been stung a few times so I know what to do.”

Arcade put his hands on his hips. He wanted to be angry with Griffon, but he couldn’t find it in his heart to be upset. Things just ran that way in the Mojave. He just shook his head and sighed, as he normally did. “Fine, let’s just… get going.”

The courier looked at Arcade for a moment longer than usual. “Somethin’ wrong? I would take care of ya too; I like you ‘Cade.”

Arcade didn’t know what to say. “Ah, let’s just get moving, I’m fine.”

The courier had looked through all the shack’s valuables and carried on. It was always an adventure in the Mojave. No matter where one would go, there was always something that they could carry with them. Whether it was knowledge or possessions, it was essential to the rest of their journeys.

They departed from the shack, and, thankfully, there were no more cazadores in the area they had to deal with. It was a hot, sunny day and there was nothing else to do but continue on. Arcade did not bother to ask where they were heading this time around, but he was glad to be of assistance during those times.

Days turned into nights, and nights turned into days. The courier would make small conversation with Arcade, but they were meaningless words. Boone trailed behind, always on his guard.

Fights occurred, killings were common, injuries fell upon them; the travels were always the same. Throughout the days, however, Arcade could see how much of an impact the courier was making upon the common peoples. He had helped simple people with their water systems and had cleared out feral ghouls for others. He had stopped to do simple favors for a merchant on the road or he had obtained a toy for a bored child. Griffon was truly one of a kind.

Arcade was starting to become interested in Griffon’s life. He wondered if he had always been like this and if being a courier was just him picking up an odd job. Did he actually enjoy wandering around the Mojave in hopes of finding new settlements and people to help? The doctor wanted to get to actually know who he had followed around for months. He wanted to engage in his life, since Griffon was so interested in him from the start.

One dark night, the trio decided to settle down with a fire roaring and sleeping bags rolled out. The comfort was not peak but it was better that they rest after all of the travel they had been doing. Arcade couldn’t complain; it certainly was better than sitting around and doing nothing. Arcade decided to sleep closer to the courier that night so he could engage in conversation.

As they were getting snug in their bags, Arcade had asked, “Griffon, have you always been a courier?”

Griffon remained silent for a brief moment. “I dunno who I was before I got shot in the head.”

“Do you remember anything at all from your prior life?” Arcade wondered.

“Nah. Whatever happened then don’t matter anymore.” Griffon turned to face Arcade. “Why do you ask now?”

Arcade gulped. “Well, I’ve taken an interest in you, I suppose. Been traveling for so long I might as well become acquainted with the man who has helped so many people.”

“Heh, interested in me, are ya?” Griffon smirked.

Arcade’s face flushed. “ _Please,_ don’t get so ahead of yourself.”

Griffon chuckled. “Eh, that’s too bad. Woulda treated you real nice. Like a proper whatcha-ma-call-it.”

Arcade turned around to face the other way. He really didn’t want to think about that at that time. He has had his share of men and most had displeased him greatly. The courier was a great man, though. He admired everything he has done for the people. Griffon didn’t hesitate to ask people if they needed help, and he would just do it for them, no problem. He didn’t mind the risk that came with it, and he would only accept the bare minimum of caps. He was also dumb in spirit, but intelligent in tight situations and has shared his extensive knowledge of medicine with others, saving lives even.

Arcade turned back around. “Why? I’m nothing special.”

Griffon grinned. “You’re a handsome fella, and ya got your wits and stuff. Pretty handy and I like, uh, the way ya talk.”

Arcade wasn’t sure how to react. He wasn’t big on the whole relationship thing. It tended to weigh him down and he wasn’t even sure that love was a thing he should be invested in when there were other things to do. It had been a long time, though.

“Okay, I’ll do a trial run.”

Griffon smiled, his whole face lighting up with glee. “Oh! Didn’t think you would give me a shot, honestly. But, you said ya wanted to get to know me, how ‘bout we talk on the road?”

Arcade smiled back. “I’d like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for cutting it off there, wanted to end it off with something bittersweet.


End file.
